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VALHALLA, N.Y. Bill McGuinn describes them as The Boys of Fall, a group of 40 boys who make up the members of the Valhalla Junior Vikings football program preparing for the upcoming Westchester Youth Football League season.
Six years ago, after watching the Valhalla High School varsity team struggle to compete, Fred Feit and John Lombardi decided that what was needed was a true Feeder program, said McGuinn, a Vikings committee member. Thus was born the Valhalla Jr. Vikings Football Program. They have been practicing under the glaring August sun -- the dog days getting ready for the season.
The Junior Vikings are made up of a 1st and 2nd grade flag football team, and two tackle teams; 3rd-4th grade tackle and 5th-6th grade tackle. Valhalla Junior Vikings also has a Cheerleader squad that participates in both home and away games.
The Vikings practice each afternoon from 5-7 p.m. working hard to learn the base package of plays contained in a playbook that even the most avid football fan would find daunting. Add to that the 8 to 10 defensives that the team runs and the volume of information these boys have mastered could earn them a PhD. in football.
While talking with the boys one is shocked to hear 10-year-olds speak knowingly of blocking schemes, gap responsibilities, pursuit angles, sweeps to the 5 hole, and so on, McGuinn said. In essence, these boys have learned a second language and learned it well enough that they are now conversant in it.
Valhalla High School first-year varsity head coach Kevin Martins met with the Jr. Viking coaches and installed his offense and his defense so that the young players might be prepared when they move on to the high school program.
The expectation is In this way by the time the boys are old enough to play varsity football they will have played in the system for as many as eight years and be well instructed in the fundamentals, as well as the finer points that can only be learned through repetition of instruction, McGuinn said.
The boys themselves may not be as aware that they are learning a system as they are of just enjoying the game. McGuinn said the main concern of the players during the first weeks of mandatory non-contact workouts was, when can I get my equipment and when can I start hitting. The Valhalla Jr. Vikings begin its season on September 8 at home with games against Ossining (5-6 grade) and Tarrytown (3-4 grade).
Do you have a child playing in the Valhalla Junior Vikings organization?
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